[Malankazooie]

@Mentalist posted story trailer in Video Games thread. There will probably be a lot of discussion about this title, so creating thread. Pull out your whetstones, hone your blades to razor sharpness and lets talk about it.

[Aptorian]

I cannot believe this isn't a launch exclusive. If this isn't needed as a system seller, what kind of aces do they have up their sleeves?

[Malankazooie]

The June 26th release date was a surprise. I was expecting it to be launch title for PS5.

Here's link to trailer @Mentalist posted https://forum.malaza...ost__p__1398711

[Aptorian]

March: DOOM 2
April: Final Fantasy 7
May: Last of Us 2
June: Ghost of Tsushima

Life is good.

[Mentalist]

Aptorian, on 05 March 2020 - 05:07 PM, said:

March: DOOM 2
April: Final Fantasy 7
May: Last of Us 2
June: Ghost of Tsushima

Life is good.

March also has a PlayStation exclusive Nioh 2

[Aptorian]

I've tried but I'm not a fan of Souls games.

[Malankazooie]

I forgot about Last of Us 2. That will be a release day purchase for me. The rest of that list is a "don't care" from me, although I want to play that DOOM game that came out a couple years ago. Oh and a big ol' - fuck Final Fantasy -from me. I deeply loathe Final Fantasy. My brother let me borrow a game from the early 2000s, forget which one, I played it for maybe 1/2 hr. and hated it and never picked it up again. I get the feeling the FF franchise appeals to a certain mindset. Not for me.

I've been dabbling with the original Nioh, haven't jumped in full force yet because I haven't had a lot of free time to play video games and I've been playing in others that have seasonal events and DLC offerings. I liked what I have expirenced with Nioh and would definitely consider Nioh 2 after more time with the original.

About Ghost of Tsushima though. What are your guys expectations with the game? Do you have lofty expectations? and are going to hold it up to a 'rare air' standard that few games have the privilege of attaining?

[Mentalist]

Malankazooie, on 05 March 2020 - 05:59 PM, said:

I forgot about Last of Us 2. That will be a release day purchase for me. The rest of that list is a "don't care" from me, although I want to play that DOOM game that came out a couple years ago. Oh and a big ol' - fuck Final Fantasy -from me. I deeply loathe Final Fantasy. My brother let me borrow a game from the early 2000s, forget which one, I played it for maybe 1/2 hr. and hated it and never picked it up again. I get the feeling the FF franchise appeals to a certain mindset. Not for me.

I've been dabbling with the original Nioh, haven't jumped in full force yet because I haven't had a lot of free time to play video games and I've been playing in others that have seasonal events and DLC offerings. I liked what I have expirenced with Nioh and would definitely consider Nioh 2 after more time with the original.

About Ghost of Tsushima though. What are your guys expectations with the game? Do you have lofty expectations? and are going to hold it up to a 'rare air' standard that few games have the privilege of attaining?

Too early to tell.

I'm still unsure what you do in the game other than clearing Mongol outposts as a ninja ghost samurai

The problem with making a "grounded" historical game is that your gameplay loop isn't particularly diverse. It's an open-world game, and it's gonna look gorgeous, because it's basically a playable Kurosawa film, and that's very cool;

But I'm yet to be shown what we actually are expected to do that's fun and engaging and unique. And I'm not syaing those things won't be there- the Infamous games were well-received and praised for their story-telling, gameplay and side-content--I'm just sayign I haven't been shown anything exciting in this game yet beyond it being a graphical showcase.

[Malankazooie]

They have held their cards close to the vest and haven't revealed a whole lot. I am hopeful that this means they know they have something exceptional and want to get the timing right to maximize interest. I guess this trailer revealed today is the continuation of that; to generate interest to crescendo at this "moment" marketing campaign. I would like to see a "first 15 min" game play video. Or a "one of the first story/side missions" game play video.

[Mentalist]

Malankazooie, on 05 March 2020 - 06:57 PM, said:

They have held their cards close to the vest and haven't revealed a whole lot. I am hopeful that this means they know they have something exceptional and want to get the timing right to maximize interest. I guess this trailer revealed today is the continuation of that; to generate interest to crescendo at this "moment" marketing campaign. I would like to see a "first 15 min" game play video. Or a "one of the first story/side missions" game play video.

Yeah, they mentioned stuff about "deep story based side-quests" in some of the interviews, but I'd wanna actually see it.

I think there'll be a gameplay blowout at some point like they did with Days Gone. I'm just not sure when, because they've still gotta market TLOU2 at some point--unless they feel confident that'll sell itself (which, to be fair, is a pretty safe assumption to make).

The timing between the 2 releases feels weird. I'd have expected Ghost to be a July/Aug reveal, not coming in literally a month after Ellie&co

[Malankazooie]

This came across my inbox. Standard and expected offer. And nothing new or amazing about deluxe edition benefits, but I am intrigued by "1 Technique Point and Charm of Hachiman's Favor."

[Malankazooie]

[Aptorian]

Assuming the no waypoint headline isn't bullshit, I wonder what their plan then is. There's a reason why these games have waypoints and shiny outlines of interactable objects.

[Malankazooie]

What do you guys think so far? I'm leaning towards a launch day purchase/play. The wind is guiding me to this inevitability.

[Mentalist]

I dunno how it'd be like to play, but it's an incredibly pretty game.

In terms of content from the SoP:

"No waypoints"- that's.... a half-truth, since the in-game mechanics basically replace arrows. Neat touch, and fits amazingly well into the game's theme and vision (which is great, as I keep saying), but mechanically identical. Also, remains to be seen what's there to do other than spot shrines for upgrades, collect crafting materials and clear outposts. Good basics, but once again, that depends on how long the game will be to avoid it getting stale.

Combat- looks nice, but my biggest concern with any open-world, or rather any large game in a "historical" setting, period-- is enemy variety. If all you are doing is killing endless numbers of mechanically identical mooks, any game can run out of steam.

Way of the Ghost- Batman, but lethal. Not that that's bad, just doesn't very new.

Closing thoughts- oooh, pretty!

If Horizon Zero Dawn was the most interesting Sony IP this gen, Ghost is definitely the one with the best aesthetics. How much the gameplay will stand out remains to be seen.
But if I was own a PlayStation, I'd pick this up just for the visuals, because they are incredibly pretty.

[Aptorian]

Looks like a lot of familiar mechanics with a new coat of paint. The aesthetics are definitely the draw. I tend to lean towards Stealth in these kinds of games but I think that Samurai style looked way cooler than the Ghost stuff.

I wonder if you can challenge every enemy or only the initial contact and then the enemy's start fighting dirty.

[QuickTidal]

Though it's a Sucker Punch game, the "you got seen" enemy screen notifier is straight out of the Ubisoft AC playbook, including the shape of it (a white curve with a thickened middle)...

but yeah, this looks tight.

And I'm with Apt....my fave thing about these games is stealth. I love nothing more than quietly killing a whole enemy section without them being alerted to my presence....but the Samurai stuff here is straight out of old 60's Kurosawa flicks so that gets my juices flowing.

[Malankazooie]

Video of the exploration and fighting if you haven't seen it yet. The video also covers some of the "social media" elements of the game like photo mode which, while nice, I would rather see more game play personally. The japanese only dialog with english subtitles and the b/w grainy play option shows they think they have something really special. Game comes out July, they say the will show more, not sure how much more they'll reveal with the release so near, but I was left wanting to see more.

[Malankazooie]

Some of the art work that is part of the promotional materials for this game is outstanding (google it). I have high expectations for this game. please -- do -- not -- disappoint.

[Malankazooie]

July starts tomorrow. Will your blade's edge be expertly crafted and honed to withstand the dog days of summer? Lets make our steel sing. Defend your honor and seize glory.